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But I Praise You

“The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught” Isaiah 50:4 NIV.

I had this date marked on my calendar for months. On this evening I planned to attend an auction and evening of fun put on by my daughter’s school. I looked forward to the event.

I stayed home with the flu.

It is easy to fall into self-pity when one feels cheated. The flu “cheated” me out of attending an important function. The events of life “cheated” me out of my husband’s tender touch and words of encouragement when I felt miserably ill. I could find a few other things to tack on the cheated list but I knew it was the devil’s game to further discourage a daughter of God. Besides, the believer’s life isn’t about being cheated, it is about being loved with an everlasting love. So even while I was missing my husband’s words I repeated some words I’ve learned to employ at times like this. They are among the most important words I’ve ever learned to say:

“But I praise You for...” Five words, the beginning of many sentences, and words that have lifted me out of the miseries of life.

On this day it was easy to finish the sentence. I told my heavenly Father how miserable I was, not that He didn’t already know, but He wants to hear my voice. And then I used the five words. “But I praise You for...allowing me to have the flu this week...not last week when my granddaughter was born, and not during the weeks when I am traveling to Canada to help when another grandbaby is born.” The more I thought about it, the more I decided this was the best week for me to have the flu.